CHAPTER 295
nonmetallic mining reclamation; oil and gas
SUBCHAPTER I
NONMETALLIC MINING RECLAMATION
295.12 Nonmetallic mining reclamation rules.
295.13 Mandatory enactment and administration of ordinance.
295.14 Authority to enact and administer ordinance.
295.16 Applicability of ordinance and standards.
295.18 Department review.
295.19 Enforcement; remedies; penalties.
295.20 Preservation of certain nonmetallic mineral deposits.
SUBCHAPTER II
OIL AND GAS
295.31 Definitions; oil and gas.
295.33 Oil and gas exploration and production.
295.35 Departmental powers and duties; oil and gas.
295.37 Penalties; oil and gas.
Ch. 295 Note
Note: 1995 Wis. Act 227 renumbered the provisions of chs. 144, 147, 159 and 162, Stats. 1993-94, to be chs. 280-299, Stats. 1995-96. For a table tracing former section numbers see the Addenda & Errata at the end of Volume 5.
NONMETALLIC MINING RECLAMATION
295.11
295.11
Definitions. In this subchapter:
295.11(1)
(1) "Department" means the department of natural resources.
295.11(2)
(2) "Environmental pollution" means the contaminating or rendering unclean or impure the air, land or waters of the state, or making the same injurious to public health, harmful for commercial or recreational use, or deleterious to fish, bird, animal or plant life.
295.11(3)
(3) "Nonmetallic mining" means all of the following:
295.11(3)(a)
(a) Operations or activities for the extraction from the earth for sale or use by the operator of mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals such as stone, sand, gravel, asbestos, beryl, clay, feldspar, peat, talc and topsoil, including such operations or activities as excavation, grading and dredging.
295.11(3)(b)
(b) On-site processes that are related to the extraction of mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals, such as stockpiling of materials, blending mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals with other mineral aggregates or nonmetallic minerals, crushing, screening, scalping and dewatering.
295.11(4)
(4) "Nonmetallic mining reclamation" means the rehabilitation of a nonmetallic mining site, including removal or reuse of nonmetallic mining refuse, grading of the nonmetallic mining site, replacement of topsoil, stabilization of soil conditions, establishment of vegetative cover, control of surface water and groundwater, prevention of environmental pollution, construction of fences where necessary and, if practical, restoration of plant, fish and wildlife habitat.
295.11(5)
(5) "Nonmetallic mining refuse" means waste soil, rock, mineral, liquid and vegetation and other waste material resulting from nonmetallic mining. This term does not include merchantable by-products resulting directly from or displaced by the nonmetallic mining.
295.11(6)
(6) "Nonmetallic mining site" means all of the following:
295.11(6)(a)
(a) The location where nonmetallic mining is proposed or conducted, including all surface areas from which materials have been or will be removed.
295.11(6)(b)
(b) Storage and processing areas related to the nonmetallic mining.
295.11(6)(c)
(c) Areas where nonmetallic mining refuse is deposited.
295.11(6)(d)
(d) Areas disturbed by activities such as the construction or improvement of private roads or haulageways for nonmetallic mining.
295.11(6)(e)
(e) Buffer areas necessary to assure appropriate final slopes after nonmetallic mining reclamation.
295.11(7)
(7) "Operator" means any person who is engaged in, or who has applied for a permit to engage in, nonmetallic mining, whether individually, jointly or through subsidiaries, agents, employes, contractors or subcontractors.
295.11(8)
(8) "Person" means an individual, owner, operator, corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association, municipality, interstate agency, state agency or federal agency.
295.11(9)
(9) "Replacement of topsoil" means the replacement of the topsoil that was removed or disturbed by nonmetallic mining, or the provision of soil that is at least as adequate as the topsoil that was removed or disturbed, for the purposes of providing adequate vegetative cover and stabilization of soil conditions.
295.11(10)
(10) "Solid waste" means any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant or air pollution control facility and other discarded or salvageable materials, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous materials resulting from industrial, commercial, mining and agricultural operations, and from community activities, but does not include solids or dissolved material in domestic sewage, or solid or dissolved materials in irrigation return flows or industrial discharges which are point sources subject to permits under
ch. 283, or source material, as defined in
s. 254.31 (10), special nuclear material, as defined in
s. 254.31 (11), or by-product material, as defined in
s. 254.31 (3).
295.11 History
History: 1995 a. 227 s.
801,
995.
295.12
295.12
Nonmetallic mining reclamation rules. 295.12(1)(1)
Rules. The department shall establish all of the following by rule:
295.12(1)(a)
(a) Uniform statewide standards for nonmetallic mining reclamation.
295.12(1)(b)
(b) Provisions for the administration of this subchapter by the department.
295.12(1)(c)
(c) Uniform statewide standards for the administration of a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance by any county, city, village or town.
295.12(1)(d)
(d) The text of a nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance that conforms with this subchapter.
295.12(2)(a)(a) The department shall establish nonmetallic mining reclamation standards under
sub. (1) (a) that are applicable both during nonmetallic mining and after the termination of nonmetallic mining.
295.12(2)(b)
(b) The department shall include in the standards specific findings regarding the necessity of nonmetallic mining regulation to protect public health, safety and welfare and the environment.
295.12(2)(c)
(c) The department shall establish different nonmetallic mining reclamation standards and compliance schedules for those portions of a nonmetallic mining site that were mined before the effective date of the ordinance, and those portions of a nonmetallic mining site that are mined on or after the effective date of the ordinance, in order to avoid excessive costs and to encourage the development and reclamation of existing nonmetallic mining sites, to the extent practicable.
295.12(2)(d)
(d) Standards for those portions of a nonmetallic mining site that are mined on or after the effective date of the ordinance shall include requirements related to the removal or reuse of nonmetallic mining refuse, removal of roads no longer in use, stabilization of soil conditions, grading the nonmetallic mining site, replacement of topsoil, establishment of vegetative cover, control of surface water flow and groundwater withdrawal, prevention of environmental pollution, construction of fences where necessary and, if practical, protection or restoration of plant, fish and wildlife habitat.
295.12(2)(e)
(e) Standards for those portions of a nonmetallic site that are mined before the effective date of the ordinance shall only include those minimal requirements necessary for the stabilization of soil conditions, establishment of vegetative cover and the prevention of environmental pollution. If additional nonmetallic mining takes place on a portion of a site that was mined before the effective date of the ordinance, that portion of the site shall be subject to the standards under
par. (d) and the remainder of the site shall be subject to this paragraph.
295.12(3)
(3) Text of ordinance. The text of the nonmetallic mining reclamation ordinance under
sub. (1) (d) shall include all of the following:
295.12(3)(a)
(a) Nonmetallic mining reclamation standards that are identical to the standards established under
sub. (1) (a).
295.12(3)(b)
(b) A requirement for the operator to submit a nonmetallic mining operation plan including maps, information about the nonmetallic mining site, a description of the proposed nonmetallic mining including methods and procedures to be used and a proposed timetable for completion of various stages of the nonmetallic mining. The operation plan shall be designed to assure successful nonmetallic mining reclamation consistent with the standards in
sub. (2) (d) and
(e), to minimize the costs of nonmetallic mining reclamation and, to the extent practicable, to minimize the area disturbed by the nonmetallic mining at any time and to provide for continuous nonmetallic mining reclamation. For those portions of a nonmetallic site mined on or after the effective date of the ordinance, the operation plan shall provide for buffer areas on the nonmetallic mining site to assure appropriate final slopes after nonmetallic mining reclamation.
295.12(3)(c)
(c) A requirement for the operator to submit a nonmetallic mining reclamation plan including maps, information about the nonmetallic mining site, a description of the proposed nonmetallic mining reclamation including methods and procedures to be used and a proposed timetable for completion of various stages of the nonmetallic mining reclamation.
